Artist use their creativity to communicate and preserve culture even when they are not intentional. The peach blossom vase is from the Chinese origin and was developed during the reign of Yongzhe the period 1723-1735 (A famille-rose enameled vase). However, there is no record on the name of the artist who designed the vase. The medium of this art work is porcelain making it brittle and delicate. The vase is white with peach blossoms with their branches from the bottom (Figure 1). It uses a combination of technique including modelling and painting. The vase is flat at the base, well curved at the center like a pot with a narrow neck. The shape is typical for flower vase as it can be placed on the top of a surface such as table or window.
The vase is a form of representational or figurative art as it is derived and inspired by a real object. Notably, it is realistic imagery and can be distinguished from abstract art, which does not reflect actual appearance or non-representational arts (Galing). The vase is an actual sculpture that was used during the Yongzheng dynasty. The art is a form of aesthetic as it portrays the beauty of the artwork. Moreover, its use, holding flowers, puts more emphasis on elegance.
There are many ways through which the art speaks to me. For instance, I see a contrast of beauty and brittleness together since the media used in modeling is breakable, yet the finished product is refined. I think, in some way, I am like the vase in that I may smile, enjoy life and appear strong while emotionally famished. When analyzing an art, it is prudent to apply substantive and not verdict judgment (Zangwill 14). Relatedly, the paintings on the base may mean different things, such as the crops grown in the era, the healing element of the peach plant, and royalty. What I derive from the painting is the health and beauty of the peach plant, which means that what is outside should be reflected inwards.
Works Cited
“A famille-rose enameled vase with peach patterns from the Yongzheng period (1723-1735) of China’s Qing dynasty.” Alamy, 2022. Web.
Galing, Jean-Marie. “Representational, Abstract, or Nonrepresentational?” Smithsonian Learning Lab, 2019.
Zangwill, Nick. The Metaphysics of Beauty. Cornell UP, 2018.